Friends or Foes?
by Dingo
Summary: Adam's 'allies' don't know about the Nayan business, but that is something he will change. PR/BtVS
1. Nayans...and Borgs

No owning of Buffy and the Scoobies, Quatrons, the three former Rangers that appear (no hinting), and I don't own their spirit animals. Yes owning of the plot, the nickname Astronamutt, the Nayans, their histories, the reasons of leaving and occasionally I own Ada-I mean, the Black Ranger's personality. *reads over what I just wrote* Hang on, I own more than Saban and the Whedon dude! Something is terribly wrong in the universe!

   _Thump_! Willow winced as she heard the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the floor. As she expected, once she opened the door to the library she was greeted by the sight of a grown man sitting on the floor, with a supple girl standing over him. The girl looked up suspiciously. Suddenly her face split into a smile.

   "Willow!" she said happily. "Whatcha doin'?"

   "Just checking-" She stopped as she saw Xander coming out from behind one of the shelves. She blinked. 

   "Yes that is Xander, no, you aren't going nuts and I don't know why he's reading a book voluntarily either," Buffy supplied.

   Willow nodded. "Oh. Good."

   Giles got up with difficulty, unstrapping the protective pillows and such from his body as he did so. "Ah, Willow, if you would be so kind as to-" He halted as she handed him the nearby water bottle. 

   "Anyway Buffy, I can patrol with you tonight after all," she told the young Slayer, who had grabbed a towel and was wiping the beginnings of a sweat off her face. 

   "What happened?" Buffy asked.

   Willow shrugged. "It's a full moon, and tomorrow's test was called off."

   "History?" Xander asked, popping up beside them. "Please say it's history…pleasepleaseplease?" he begged, practically on kneeling on the floor.

   Willow wrinkled her nose. "Actually, it's better for you. Calculus." As Xander whooped and started dancing around the library, she leaned towards Buffy. "What happened?" she asked, nodding her head towards Xander.

   Buffy sighed. "I'll explain later."

   "She kissed him?!" Willow exclaimed in disbelief.

   Buffy nodded sagely. "Right on the bulls-eye, too," she remarked. "He's been on a high ever since then."

   "She kissed him," Willow repeated again. "Just for helping her reach a book?"

   "Yeah." Buffy stiffened as she turned a street corner. The streetlight reflected off her face, showing nothing but grim determination and concentration. She handed her bag to Willow, withdrawing a stake at the same time. Willow fumbled, reaching for a small bottle down at the bottom of the bag. Suddenly five people burst out of the shadows. _Well, not exactly people_ Willow told herself. They all went straight to Buffy. Buffy ducked just in time as a small dark shape hurtled over her head. She heard the hissing of a dusted vampire and realized the shape had been a stake, and had she not ducked, her grey matter would have been introduced to the wall behind her very quickly. She ducked again as this time a much larger shape hurtled over her head and hit one in the chest, sending it onto a strategically placed pointy iron bar that stuck out from the wall. The figure yelled, a battle roar that chilled even Buffy's blood even though they seemed to be fighting on the same side. The third vampire hesitated, which proved a fatal mistake. Yet another figure rose up behind him, lifted a stake and slammed it home. This figure looked different though; it was definitely a female. The two remaining vampires looked uneasily at one another, and one charged. That one was quickly taken out by Buffy, even though her mind was firmly on who the two people were. The single vampire that remained stared at them, before turning and running. There was not going to be any survivors, however, as another form seemed to drop out of midair and land in front of it. 

   "Going somewhere?" the newest person asked, before punching it rapidly in the face, and taking to the ground with a tornado kick. "Yeah, I know where you're going," the figure continued, keeping up the talkative state, since he had been the first to properly speak. As the vampire stood, the figure seemed to smile as the vampire turned to dust from a flying stake in the chest. "Up the vacuum cleaner, for one thing," he muttered as he brushed himself off. He looked up at the two other figures behind Buffy, and in the dim light she could see serious either brown or hazel eyes under a fringe of brown hair. He straightened, and the brown eyes turned to being amused with a sudden grin that took over his face. "Girl, you have to learn to throw right," he complained, still brushing imaginary dust off his clothing. One of the people behind her marched up and poked him in the chest.

   "Boy, you can't even throw a tennis ball!" she exclaimed. Buffy noticed that she was about the same height as herself, and had looks of an African. "You try to throw a small pointy thing a couple of yards to end up in someone's chest and you'll see how easy it is!" She suddenly noticed she had an audience and stopped talking. The first person that attacked walked down the side of the street in shadow, past his comrades to pick up the three stakes they all had used. He separated her one from theirs and threw it down at Willow's feet. 

   "Thanks," Buffy said distantly. The figure said nothing, only stepped backwards deeper into the shadows. The girl followed his lead, after smiling at Willow and Buffy. The brown-eyed boy grinned and bowed, melting into the shadows. A voice could be heard; but since it was male and it wasn't Brown-Eyed's, she deduced that it must have been the shadow-walkers. 

   "Nice to meet you, Slayer."

   Giles wiped his glasses on his tweed jacket. "He knew you were the Slayer?" he repeated.

   "He knew I was the Slayer," she confirmed. She threw her hands up in exasperation and said, "What? Do I have a huge sign on my head saying 'Slayer! Beware evil!' How did they know?"

   "Well, I'll do some research," Giles told them.

   "Yay! Research!" Willow chirped. At a look from Giles she said tentatively, "Boo, research?"

   "I do suggest that both of you go to your classes," Giles reminded them. He looked up at the clock on the library wall and said, "I believe the bell is going to go…now." On cue, the bell rang and Willow jumped out of her seat.

   "Come on, Buff," she said, indicating the door.

   "Students, we are…" Buffy tuned out her teacher's voice and thought, mostly about the three from last night. Shadow, as she had started calling him, had known she was the Slayer. How? And how had they fought like that? How had they disappeared? Her thoughts were disrupted by a knock on the door. She looked up to see an Asian-looking guy standing in the doorway. The teacher walked over and took a note from him. As she read it, she nodded, and motioned him to the empty seat beside Buffy. No one really took any notice of the guy as he sat down and took out the textbook he needed. He stared up at the board, and just as Buffy was about to do the same, he looked over into her eyes. His eyes were weird; not brown, but a proper midnight black. The black eyes seemed to darken as he deliberately studied her own. His gaze was strange; it was like he could see straight through her eyes and into her mind. Irrationally she thought of the proverb _the eyes are windows to the soul_; if that were true, his soul was darker than the nights she spent patrolling. His lips curved into a sardonic smile as his eyebrow rose. She looked away quickly as a flush went up her cheeks. Her Slayer-trained ears caught a small snort coming from his way, very quietly. The rest of the lesson flew by, as she concentrated hard on the work in front of her. When the bell went she gathered up all her books quickly and hurried out the door.

   "So…any word on the mysterious fighters from last night?" Buffy asked as she breezed through the door. Giles looked up from his place at the table. He pushed up his glasses with one finger and motioned her to come closer. 

   "Well, actually, the only record I have of any fighters about the way you described them are the Nayans, three fighters able to blend in with shadows, can fight, and have senses that equal or in some ways are superior to yours. One is sort-of Hispanic-looking, the girl is African, but no one alive has ever had more than a glimpse of the other." He held up a book open at a coloured drawing. It featured a girl standing in the middle, her arms crossed over her chest and leaning with her back against the back of another boy. He was taller than her by a few inches, and had his arms crossed. The other subject of the sketch was a figure standing in the shadows, totally indistinguishable from the darkness except for a faint outline. Suddenly she saw something, and she took the book off Giles, squinting slightly. She moved nearer to the overhead light and looked harder.

   "Giles, do you have a magnifying glass?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the rough illustration. He got up, mystified, but handed her a black-handled one. She mumbled a thanks, and looked at all of their respective clothing. After a few seconds of inspection, she handed it back to Giles. 

   "What did you see?" he asked, knowing that her senses were far past his own. 

   She ignored his question. "Is this accurate?" she asked. He nodded and waited for her to continue. "Their clothing is weird," she explained. "It's all pretty much in one piece, and in three colours. Red, yellow and black. And they all have gold medallions of different animals in the middle. An ape, a bear and…but I can't tell what the black one's is." She shut the book with a snap. "Okay, so we know who they are. What do we do?"

   "Actually, no we don't." Giles's voice stopped her tirade. Before he could continue Willow and Oz came through the doors.

   "Hey," Willow greeted them.

   "Hi," Oz added.

   "Hey," Buffy said back absently, staring at Giles.

   Willow stopped, becoming aware of the conversation. "Do we need a catch-up or something?"

   "Buffy has identified the… helpers from last night," Giles explained.

   "And he's found a problem," Buffy finished.

   "Ah. Yes, well, it is impossible that these could be your allies from last night since they are known for fighting with vampires," he said as he put the book away.

   "There's something else isn't there?" Buffy asked, knowing her Watcher and knowing when he was hiding something.

   He looked at her at last. "The first mention of them comes from almost one and a half thousand years ago. The last…from six hundred years ago."

   "Freaky," Willow said.

   Buffy frowned. "Speaking of freaky, there's a guy in my English class who could be prince of freaks."

   "The Korean guy?" Oz asked, jumping into the conversation.

   "Yeah!" Buffy exclaimed. "He is so freakin' weird!"

   "I have to do a project with him," Oz told her.

   "If he gets out of hand…" Buffy motioned to herself.

   "I'll tell you."

   "Oz, right?"

   Oz turned to see the Korean guy that Buffy had been talking about before standing in front of him.

   "Yeah,' he confirmed, motioning with a hand to a chair beside him.

   "Sorry, but I can't do it today," the teen said apologetically. "I've got some family stuff I need to do."

   "That's cool," Oz told him. "When will suit you?"

   "Maybe…tomorrow?"

   "That's fine with me."

   "Thanks. See you around," the guy said, waving a hand as he walked out the door.

   "That guy's weirder than me," Oz said, shaking his head and going back to work.

   "So…you think they're coming out tonight?" Xander asked. Buffy shrugged her shoulders.

   "How would I know? They're either one thousand five hundred years old and allies of bad people, or they're copycats who found a mention of Nayans but didn't read on far enough to see that they're evil."

   "We aren't." The voice came from all around. Buffy started. This was virtually the only time someone…or something…had been able to sneak up on her when she was patrolling. 

   "Now I'm wigged," she muttered to Willow and Xander under her breath. "Aren't what?" she asked, loud enough for them to hear her. 

   "Evil." The word sighed around her, like the walls of the buildings were the things speaking to her.

   "Yes, you are," she said.

   "No, we aren't. We were," the unreal voice continued. Buffy started as two figures dropped down near her, both in front. 

   "So…these are your friends," Xander mumbled. "Ah, sorry, but I don't think we caught your names?"

   "We have been called many things," a female voice spoke instead of the dreamlike one. The two walked slowly toward them, and Buffy could see it was the girl and the boy. Not Shadow. Both pulled down the cloth face pieces so she could see the whole of their faces

   "But we most like our recent and our childhood names," the boy continued. 

   "Aisha," the girl introduced herself.

   "I'm Rocky," the boy said, half-bowing to them, his head dipping.

   "And the one you never see is Adam," Aisha told them. 

   "That's me," a tired voice floated down from above them. Buffy quickly looked up and saw the outline of a person against the black midnight sky. She got the impression of a smile as he balanced between two horizontal bars well above their heads, even though through the dim light she could see his face piece was up. She had to move as he flipped and landed less than a foot away from her, although she still couldn't see him. "Hi."

   "Nice move," she said flippantly. 

   Again the impression of him grinning came to her. "Thanks. Although I'm not any rival of the Slayer for gymnastic stunts," he replied.

   "Oh, yeah, about that. Um…" Buffy trailed off, uncertain as how to tell them of the fact that they were supposed to be evil and fighting against her.

   "You want an explanation of why we aren't evil?" Rocky finished, as Adam walked back, still shadowed, to his Nayan friends. Buffy nodded. "That's a tad hard to explain."

   Whatever he might have said stopped as what seemed like a hundred figures came down from above, behind, in front, anywhere possible. 

   "Crap-ette," Aisha groaned, moving straight into a fighting stance, her yellow suit stretching with her.

   Buffy noticed the troop weren't vampires; an oddity for the Slayer. They were mostly greyish-brown, and only vaguely humanoid. "Quatrons?" she thought she heard Adam mutter. She didn't hear anything more as the grey things grabbed her and tried to drag her away. She ducked and threw two over her head. Dimly she heard the sounds of a fight all around her. Buffy looked around and realized that the only people she could see were Willow and Xander.

   "So what else happened?" Oz asked, playing with Willow's hair as she typed on the computer keyboard.

   "We fought more, they left a couple of minutes later and we went home," Buffy told him.

   "There's no mention of the Nayans going to the good side," Giles related. "Although Nayans never really were all that bad," he added.

   "How can people who fight with vampires 'never really be that bad?'" Xander asked curiously. "I mean, there's bad, then good, right?" he asked, sending a glance to Buffy and Giles.

   "Not really." Giles wiped his face. "The Nayans were…for lack of a better phrase…the people sitting on the fence. Mostly, they fought alongside vampires, but that was because they threatened them. The books, even the Watcher's Diaries, mention the fact that they seem to care a lot about each other. They disappeared six hundred years ago, and they were presumed dead or defeated."

   Giles didn't get the chance to finish as the library doors burst open. The Korean guy walked through and planted his hands in front of Giles. "Where are the books on occult?" he demanded.

   Giles raised an eyebrow but pointed to a nearby cabinet. The Korean guy didn't acknowledge his gesture, only walked over and searched through the titles until he came to a book that was about four inches thick. He grabbed it and walked up the stairs to the top level of the library, leaving Buffy and the Slayerettes to talk in peace.

   "I can see why you think he is strange," Willow commented in a whisper to Buffy.

   Buffy sent a glance to the dark head, which was the only visible sign of the teen. "I don't know, you guys," she said uncertainly. "He's weird, that's for sure, but usually he's a lot more…"

   "Polite?" Xander offered. "Nice? Civil?"

   "Typical," Buffy finished. "Something's bugging him," she added. "If the Nayans weren't complicated enough, the students at this school are going nuts."

   "You're only figuring this out now?" Xander asked.

   Oz turned as he heard someone crash into the locker next to his own. _The Korean guy, of course_ he thought.

   "You're friends with Buffy Summers, right?" the guy asked.

   "Yeah," Oz replied cautiously. "Why do you want to know?"

   The guy looked down at his feet for a moment before looking him in the eye. "I need her help."

   Giles, Buffy, Xander and Willow looked up as the library doors burst open for the second time in a day. Oz came in, side by side with the freaky teen. Oz just shrugged as the other guy walked up to Buffy. Buffy got up, just before the guy stopped. They ended up almost nose-to-nose, and stared at each other. Inexplicably the guy half-smiled slowly.

   "Anyone tell you that you look a whole lot more composed at school?" he asked.

   "As opposed to where?" Buffy asked, trying to match his part casual, part serious air and tone.

   "As opposed to patrolling." His smile increased at her shock, turning his gaze into slightly mocking. "That is what you call it these days, isn't it? Patrolling?" He turned and sat in one of the nearby chairs, putting his feet up on the table. "How far you Slayers have come," he mused. "A thousand years ago, give or take, it was the tour of duty, eight hundred was the rounds, and just six hundred ago it was walking the beat."

   "How do you know all this?" Giles asked, suspicious of this teen.

   He sent another sardonic smile Buffy's way. "Obviously you don't recognise me," he drawled. He picked up a book from next to him and looked at it for a moment. Suddenly he tossed it to Buffy. "I'm the right-hand man," he quipped. She grabbed it, startled, and saw that it was the old sketch of the Nayans. 

   Buffy recomposed herself quickly. "So I finally meet the elusive Shadow," she quipped. She stuck out a hand. "Nice to meet you."

   He stared at her before taking it. "Adam, Mind of the Nayans."

   "Mind? What, the others have no brain?" Xander asked, coming into the conversation for the first time.

   Adam stared at him for so long that Xander started to fidget. "No. There are three of us, obviously, and we all make up parts of a whole, our own strengths. I'm Mind," he said, settling back more comfortably in the chair. "Rocky's Spirit, and Aisha's Heart."

   " 'Scuse me, but aren't you a bad guy?" Oz asked.

   Adam sent him a lazy smile. "Like I've told Buffy before, we Nayans aren't evil. We were," he revised. "But we hope that we've done enough good to make up for all the bad we've done."

   "So you don't suck blood?" Xander asked. 

   "No. Not exactly," he amended. Five pairs of eyes looked at him weirdly. He sighed. "I hate this part of 'get to know you's. We're vampires." The next second a stake was at his chest. "Oh, yeah. And we're won't die from a stake in the chest, unless you want a dead body on your hands." He lifted an eyebrow at Buffy above him, who looked suspicious. "We became impervious to a wooden stake about nine hundred and fifty years ago," he explained. "As well as garlic, holy water, and most other things," he said under his breath. "Anyway, we're only vampires in the sense of the word. We like blood, sure, but it has to be from someone who knows who we are and is willing to let us feed off them. We can't make other vampires, either. Mostly we're at the strength of a Slayer with about two differences, one the no heartbeat and two we live way-way-way-way-wwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy longer," he added.

   "Well, this is a change," Cordelia smirked, walking into the library. "You're all sitting around researching yucky stuff."

   "At least we research yucky stuff," Xander threw back. "You are yucky stuff."

   Cordelia did a motion curiously like poking out her tongue, before noticing the non-normal Slayerette lounging in a chair across the room. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" she asked coyly. She walked over and perched on the nearest chair to Adam.

   "Nothin'," Xander drawled. "Just a thousand year old vampire."

   She remained sitting. "Very funny." She returned her gaze to Adam's face. "So, mister, what are you doing tonight?" she questioned, reaching out to touch him on the arm.

   "Going on a killing rampage starting with the people in this room at midnight," he said with a straight face. "You want to stay?"

   "Very nice way of dealing with Cordelia," Buffy said, trying not to laugh.

   Adam shrugged. "There was two people like that in my last 'life', but with them I just used karate, mostly," he explained.

   Buffy looked at him from out of the corner of her eye. This guy was like none she had ever met before, apart from the… unusual…Nayan/vampire thing. He was like…a couple of different people, one deeply concerned about his friends and willing to do anything to get them back, the fighter from two days ago and the semi-normal guy she was talking to. _Not a bad lookin' guy she was talkin' to, either. _Mentally she slapped herself. They were in the middle of a situation here!

   "I've just got a question," she said slowly, suddenly remembering something she had noticed earlier. "Those fighting suity-things you wear at night…where did you get those?"

   Adam weighed up his options. She _was_ the Slayer, and like she would really tell anyone else that her six hundred year old vampire friend had been to another planet. 

   "You believe in aliens, right?" he asked cautiously.

   "Yeah, sometimes," Buffy responded.

   "Well, they're real. Before you say anything, some are good, some are bad. To explain, I'm going to have to go into a bit of history from thousands of years ago. There was one alien, a very disgusting guy called Ivan Ooze, and he got trapped inside a chamber over six thousand years ago by a team of…superheroes…under the command of a good alien called Zordon. Zordon enlisted help when another bad gal called Rita Repulsa escaped and started attacking Earth. Long story short, Zordon picked five teens to stop her, another one got added, then three went to a peace conference. Guess who filled in for them?" Adam asked rhetorically. "Us Nayans. Anyway, a while after we got recruited Ivan Ooze escaped and we had to go to another planet to get more powers because he destroyed them and Zordon. That's where we got the suits from."

   Buffy was either intrigued or disbelieving, she wasn't sure. "What happened to Zordon?" she asked.

   "He died, but we brought him back to life."

   "So why aren't you still a…superhero?" she questioned reasonably.

   Adam got out a laugh. "A while after this Aisha quit the team, her message to us that she thought we should move on soon. Then almost a year after that Rocky hurt himself. Not seriously, but he had to quit the team. I was the last one of us to leave, and that was only because Zordon insisted that the rest of us 'grew up and experienced adult life'. I have a feeling he'd be a little amazed at how many times I've experienced 'adult life' with monkey-boy and teddy."

   "Monkey-boy? Teddy?" Buffy was confused.

   "Their nicknames. On the quest for those powers we needed to find our spirit animals. Rocky is an ape and Aisha's a bear."

   "I thought I saw that on the medallions!" Buffy exclaimed.

   He looked rather surprised. "Oh, of course, the chest animals."

   "What's yours?" Buffy asked.

   "A frog. And before you ask, my nickname is Kermit."

   Buffy couldn't keep in a snicker.

   "What do you want, Astronamutt?" Rocky asked.

   Astronema sashayed past him and Aisha. They were both tied up, and for extra safety, they were behind a criss-crossing pattern of lasers. He angrily pulled at the ropes, but quietened as Aisha softly tapped him on the back.

   "Adam'll get the Slayer,' she said quietly. "Then he'll bust us outta here."

   Astronema overheard. "Oh, I hope so. That's why I brought you here, you know. Reviewing the former Rangers just was no fun until he showed up."

   "You want Adam?" Aisha asked.

   "Oh yes. He's a fine specimen of the human race…oh, I forgot. He's not human, is he?" Astronema smiled coldly at them, the metalwork on her head shining in the dim lighting. "He's going to live forever. And he's going to spend that forever fighting for me."

   "So what exactly do you want my help for?" Buffy asked.

   He looked at her over the top of the occult book he was reading. "I'm sure you remember last night all of the grey…things," he started off. "They're called…"

   "Quatrons?" Buffy finished. At a look from the fourteen hundred year old Nayan she explained. "I heard you say it."

   "Anyway," he continued. "There's the big boss of them and she's either given them out or she's here."

   "What's her name?" Buffy asked.

   "Astronema. Her history is really complicated, so I won't get into it, but the thing is…you know about multiple personalities, right?" Buffy nodded, a trifle uncertainly and a bit confused. "Well, she got another personality wired into her head, so it isn't really anyone, but the main person there is Karone but she's not in control." He stopped to think over what he said. "Did that make sense?" At a shrug from Buffy he continued, "Anyway, I need you to help me, at worst scare her off, or at best get the hardwiring out of her head."

   "How? Last time I checked, the Slayer's book didn't have methods for dealing with intergalactic Borgs!"

   The Mind of the Nayans raised a sarcastic eyebrow as he put down the occult material. "There's a book?"

   "They've got a book for everything, and don't get off the subject," Buffy snapped.

   Adam sighed. "All you have to do is one of two jobs. One, you distract her while I fight off Quatrons to get to my friends, or two, you can be the ones to get to my friends while I distract her."

   "I'll take option number two."

   "I thought you would." He returned to his reading. 

   Several minutes later Buffy sneaked a peek over the top of her book. There was a question that had been bothering her…

   "Spit it out," he said calmly, in the middle of reciting one of the spells under his breath.

   She stumbled. "I was just wondering…what's so special about you Nayans? Why aren't all vampires like you?"

   "You mean as in the job and weaknesses thing?" At her nod he continued, "It's probably the way we were sired."

   "Which was?" she prompted.

   "Okay, just wrap your mind around this, okay? When a pregnant woman gets bitten and changed, the change doesn't take hold immediately. The woman can't be with child to become a fully-fledged vampire. But as soon as the kid comes out…" He raised his eyebrows. "That's a totally different sparring session. A lot of the time they just drain the kid, but in my case, and the others', they obviously didn't. I grew up with a vampire mum who changed me when I was seventeen, about..." He did some quick calculations in his head. "Sixteen hundred and twenty years ago. Rocky was given up for adoption since the doctor that delivered him somehow got him out, but coincidentally he was given back to his mum when he was almost eighteen and she changed him…I think on his eighteenth birthday, almost…sixteen hundred years ago. And Aisha was sort-of a mix of us, surviving on her own until she was twelve when she was taken in by an ancestor of one of the witches at the Salem trials. She was taken back by her mum and changed six years afterwards, which was around fifteen hundred and ninety years ago. Anyway, I think if the vampires who do the change are actually blood-related before the change then the resulting offspring are more human, and we still keep our souls. As for the weaknesses and jobs and stuff, Aisha was a witch who took all our weaknesses and transferred them to a dying old man who wanted to die, I was trained in fighting strategies since I could read which was age two, and Rocky's just naturally an idiot plus fighter plus leader. Honestly, I can't explain it any better than that."

   Buffy raised an eyebrow. "So, you're the oldest?"

   "By about two decades, approximately, yeah. I compensate for that by being changed younger."

   Xander chose that minute to burst in. "They got Willow!" he said, distraught.

   Adam was up before Buffy could blink. "Any notes? Of any kind?" he asked swiftly, recognising that the boy was on the verge of panic. 

   Xander seemed to gain strength from Adam's brisk and calm voice. "Yeah." He held out a piece of slightly rolled paper, indicating it might have been rolled around an arrow and shot.

   Adam read it, his voice betraying no emotion.

_   Slayer and Mind of the Nayans._

_   I'm sure Adam has already told you of me, but I'll still introduce myself. My name is Astronema, Princess of Evil. I currently have two vampires and one human standing right beside me as I read this…in fact; I'm reading this out loud. Here's my deal; Adam Park, born Adam Yashio, died 380 AD for the three. _

_   I'll give you twenty-four hours to make a decision. I'll be in contact._

_                                                      Astronema, Princess of Evil._


	2. Finding Help

   "So what do we do?" Buffy asked, pacing around the library table.

   Oz shrugged angrily, getting up and locking himself in the cage near where they were standing. "Let me in on the plan later."

   "I elect we give up Dead Boy to get back Willow," Xander said raising a hand.

   "One, my name is not Dead Boy. Adam, frogboy, Shawn, Michael, any of those. Not Dead Boy. Two, if that were an option I'd gladly do it. But…Astronema has become a lying scoundrel who fights her own brother to kill him every day. Three, the only way to get back Willow is to bust in there and grab her," Adam said, flipping through a book and stopping occasionally, muttering under his breath.

   "And how exactly do you know all this?" Xander asked, walking around to the ancient vampire's chair.

   Adam looked up, not at all disconcerted with the young man's anger. In fact he stood, standing in front of Xander almost an inch taller. "I'm the Mind of the Nayans," he said coolly. "Give me a telephone, watch, three pieces of chewing gum, one television and a couple of globs of blue-tack and I'll make you a receiver that picks up any and all transmissions."

   Xander suddenly looked interested. "Like cable?"

   Adam walked away, picking up another book in front of the iron cage, which now contained a snarling wolf. "I'll do my best."

   "Why do you need chewing gum?" Buffy asked.

   He flashed her a smile. "Lets me concentrate."

   "So what exactly do we do?" Giles asked, coming out from his office with cups of coffee, or in Buffy and Xander's case, hot chocolate. Buffy snuck a peek at the clock and suddenly wished she hadn't, stifling a yawn which then caught out Xander.

   "We wait," Adam said, accepting the drink and sipping it. "Astronema has the best cards and she knows it." He pointed a finger at Giles's books. "But we have a extra ace, and if we play it well enough we'll gather the benefits. In this case, Willow, Rocky and Aisha."

   "You like your card analogies, don't you?" Buffy asked randomly.

   Adam had the good grace to look sheepish. "I was a card-dealer for a Los Vegas casino seventeen years ago and I nailed the lingo. Give me a break."

   "The ancient one is planning, princess," Ecliptor said softly, watching the beautiful female glancing absently at records of former and current Rangers fighting.

   "No matter. He knows I have the keys, and there is no way out except through me." The calm voice did little to hint at the mental fight going on behind the metalwork and red hair of the evil queen.

   _You're not evil! You're Karone, sister of Andros! You were in line for the Purple Astro morpher! You love Zhane!_ a helpless voice cried from deep within her mind.

    "Ecliptor, go to Angel Grove with the routine monster," she ordered. "But." The simple word stopped the faithful being in his tracks. "If the Silver Ranger shows up, do try to wound him, at least a little."

   _No. Please no._

   "So what do we do?" Buffy repeated, getting a shot of deja-vu as she paced around the table.

   "Don't ask me," Xander answered. He jerked a thumb at Adam, who was sitting at the table fiddling with something. "Ask Dr. Brain over there."

   "I told you, no nicknames," Adam growled as he brought the thing over. It was roughly the design of a remote control for a TV crossed with a mobile phone.

   "What does this do, Einstein?" Xander asked, raising his eyebrows. "Call every television in the area?"

   "No, idiot, it's a teleportation device."

   "Why, pray tell, do we need a teleportation device?" Buffy asked.

   Adam grabbed her hand and motioned for her to grab on to Xander's. He smiled as he clicked a button. "We need help."

   Buffy's response was lost in a whirling circle of light as they disappeared.


	3. The Fight...

Author's Note (IMPORTANT!): Cookies, I realized about halfway through the second chapter there's no mention of Angel.

::mutters:: The poof. Anyways, just pretend that he never existed (yay!) but everything went on as it did. I have also realized none of you would have any idea what place this is on both timelines.

Buffy: Oz and Willow are going out, Oz has told everyone he's a werewolf, Xander and Cordelia still hate each other, Buffy's as normal as possible being the Slayer and Spike and Drusilla have never been heard of since Angel never existed. 

Power Rangers: Space time, just pretend it's after Dark Spectre's Revenge (where Karone gets turned into a Borg) but there have been a couple of monsters since. No Psychos. 

Oh yeah, for some reason Giles isn't around much.

On with zee Fic!

Before, on Friends or Foes: Buffy met three 'vampire slayers' while on patrol one night. Two of the hunters were captured, and now the last has asked for their help. Buffy has said yes, because she is the Slayer, and they have Willow…

   As Buffy materialized she heard the clang of metal and the sounds of a fight. The next thing she noticed was that here it was about the middle of the afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly. She started to run to the fight, but a hand around her wrist stopped her. The blue-eyed Slayer turned and saw Adam shaking his head. 

   "It's their fight. They can deal with it," he told her. He briefly scoped out the land around them and pointed to a small patch of large trees that overlooked where the fight seemed to be coming from. "Over there," he hissed to Xander and Buffy. They crept over to the trees and settled down to watch.

   "Ashley!" Carlos yelled. "Duck!"

   The Yellow Ranger ducked just in time as a Quatron swung, almost decapitating her. "Thanks Carlos!" she yelled back, kicking the Quatron in the gut.

   "You're going down, Ecliptor!" Zhane yelled. The sword and Silverizer connected and made a loud _clang_.

   "It is you, who will be kissing the ground this day," the metal being said, swinging at the Ranger's head. Zhane ducked, and unfortunately for him, Ecliptor's next move was a low sweep, knocking him off his feet. "I believe this is the point where you die," Ecliptor said as he walked up, his sword pointing directly at the thin line where Zhane's helmet met his suit.

   "Okay, maybe it's now my fight," Adam said softly as they watched. As the Scoobies looked around at him in surprise, he smiled from beneath his Ninja suit. "Cowabunga." He flipped over their heads.

   "Where are they, Ecliptor?" a voice demanded from the side of Zhane. The metal being looked up in surprise, and that was all Zhane needed. With a hard kick upwards, Zhane dove away from the flying sword. The figure who had spoken caught it, and Zhane retreated up next to him.

   "Do I know you?" Zhane asked breathlessly.

   "Introductions later,' the figure spoke. "Carlos and the others are coming over." Indeed the other Rangers were walking, flipping, running et cetera over to them.

   "Geeze, Andros, how many Rangers have you got up there in cryogenic freezing?" TJ asked curiously, watching Ecliptor all the time.

   "I've never been cryogenically frozen in my life," the figure told him, still in a lazy fighting stance.

   "Until next time Rangers," Ecliptor sneered. He looked straight at the unexplained Ranger. "See you soon, ancient one."

   "You can count on it, Ecliptor," he answered.

   "Explanation please?" Cassie asked as the evil guys teleported out.

   "No problemo, Cass," the guy said, lifting his hand over his face and dropping it. The figure demorphed, leaving Adam Park.


	4. ...The Introductions

   "Adam! Man, that's twice! How many times do you have to save our butts?" Carlos asked, pushing his way next to him.

   Adam looked mildly annoyed; although it was obvious he was almost smiling. "As many times as you need it." He shook his finger at Carlos reproachfully. "You know, back in my day…we introduced people as soon as they met."

   Carlos rolled his eyes. "This is Adam," Carlos said, poking Zhane in the side. "This is Zhane. Introductions over."

   Adam lost his almost-smile. "Not quite."

   Adam raised a hand, motioning for Buffy and the others to show themselves. He smiled at the Rangers, who looked disbelieving, worried and happy all at once.

   "This is Buffy. This is Xander. This is the Ranger team. Introductions almost over," Adam said as the two walked down from behind the tree.

   "Uh, Adam? Code of conduct and stuff? Why are you telling them who we are?" Cassie asked.

   Adam looked seriously at all of them. "Right now, I need you to trust me, and to listen to what I have to say. Somewhere more private?" he asked.

   Andros raised his wrist. Something about this planetary Ranger made him sure that he was telling the truth. "DECA, nine to teleport."

   "Beam me up, Scotty," Xander muttered under his breath.

   "Nice place you've got here," Buffy remarked idly.

   The Rangers removed their helmets, and both Xander and Buffy inwardly gasped. All of them looked so…young. Probably not any older than themselves. Both tuned back in when they heard someone introducing the team.

   "You're probably going to forget all our names, so just call out a colour and the right one will come running," the one in blue said. "I'm TJ, yellow is Ashley, pink is Cassie, black is Carlos, silver is Zhane and red is Andros."

   "Now," Andros said after TJ had finished. "What do you need from us?"

   Adam turned serious. "Help. Now don't freak on me, Carlos especially. I'm a vampire." Stunned silence. "This is the vampire Slayer." More silence. "And this is just an idiot along for the ride."

   "Okay, number three and maybe number two I can believe," Cassie started. "But you're a vampire?"

   Adam offered his hand to Carlos. "I know you have a cross somewhere. Put it on my hand." Carlos looked at him warily. "Go on." Very slowly Carlos lifted a hidden necklace from around his neck of a silver cross. He placed it on Adam's hand, who immediately closed his fist. A few seconds went by, and slowly a tiny plume of smoke rose from his hand. Adam quickly opened it and threw Carlos his cross as quickly as he could. The small symbol was burnt into his hand.


End file.
